Spike fastening means for railway tracks



Sept. 28, 1948. R. T. scHoLEs i A 2,450,361

SPIKE FASTENING MEANS FOR RAILWAY TRACKS Filed April 7. 1945 PatentedSept. 28, 1.948

SPIKE FASTENING M TRA EANS FOR RAILWAY CKS Richard T. Scholes, Hinsdale,Ill.

Application April 7, 1945, Serial No. 587,178

3 Claims.

This invention rela-tes to improvements in fastening means, and has forits general object to provide, on the one hand, a fastening element ofnovel twisted-spike form for general use, and, on the other hand, toprovide a novel fastening combination of elements comprising atwistedspike, an element into which the same is to be twisted by turningor driving of the same, and a plate or the like to be fastened to saidelement by said spike.

One special object of the invention is to provide a twisted-spike whichis of polygonal shape in cross section and which has a point of chiselform and of the same twist pitch as the shank of the spike, thereby toadapt the spike readily to be driven into a wooden or equivalent elementand to insure twisting of the spike into such element as it is driveninto the same.

Another special object of the invention is to provide a fasteningcombination of elements as aforesaid in which the twisted-spike is ofpolygonal cross section and in which the plate or ythe like has aspike-accommodating opening of plygonai shape which preventslongitudinal movement of the spike therethrough except by rotarymovement of the spike relative to the plate or the like. Accordingly, ifthe plate or the like is held against rotation in any manner, it isineffective by its own pressure exerted outwardly upon the spike toeffect loosening of Ithe spike, as it holds the spike against rotationand the spike must be rotated relative thereto and relative to theelement into which it is screwed in order to be withdrawn. In otherwords, while the spike may be withdrawn by rotating the same by asuitable implement, it cannot be loosened by pressure of the plate orthe like exerted outwardly thereon as long as the plate or the like isheld against rotation. Consequently, under normal conditions the spikeis held effectively against any outward or loosening movement bypressure of the plate or the like exerted outwardly thereon if thelatter is held against rotation.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become morefully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists in a twisted-spike and in a novel fastening combination ofelements embodying the novel features of construction. combination andarrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed.illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding parts in the different views:

|Figure 1 is a perspective view of a twisted spike formed in accordancewith the invention.

Figure 2 is aplan view of a fastening combination of elements embodyingthe features of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section through the structure shown in Figure2.

One special use of a twisted spike and of a fastening combination ofelements embodying the features of the invention is in connection withrailway track structures. Accordingly, the spike has been illustrated asbeing in the form of a railway track spike, designated generally as A,and the fastening combination of elements has been illustrated ascomprising a twisted-spike A. a cross-tie B, a tie-plate C, a rail D,and a rail clip E. It is to be understood, however, that the spike A isnot necessarily a railway track spike, but may be of any desired sizeand proportions for any other use, 'and that the particular elements ofthe combination shown merely are representative of various otherspecifically different elements which may comprise the combinatiton.

The spike A lcomprises as usual a shank lll having a. head il at one endthereof and Ia point l2 at its other end.` Essentially, the shank l@ isnot of circular shape but is of some sui-table polygonal shape in crosssection. Preferably it is square in cross section. In any event, it isof helical or twisted form and of small pitch throughout its length. Thepoint l2, which preferably butnot necessarily'is of wedge or chiselshape, as shown, likewise is of helical or twisted form and of the samepitch as said shank. Consequently, when the spike A is driven eitherdirectly into an element such as a `wooden cross-tie or its equivalentor into a lead hole previously bored therein, it obviously will rotateinto such element and there- 'fore will be practically impossible toremove therefrom except by rotation. Accordingly, it follows that ifsaid spike is held, -by an element which it fastens, against rotationafter having been driven or rotated and thereby twisted into an elementsuch as a cross-tie, it will be held effectively against being loosenedand moved outwardly by the element which it fastens and -therefore willremain tight, as distinguished from the ordinary spike which, under theinfluence of vibration has a pronounced tendency to become loose andcreep outwardly soon after its installation, f

In accordance with the present invention an element or elements whichthe spike fastens is, or are, utilized as a means of holding the spikeagainst rotation after i-t has been driven home.

Thus. according to the specific example o! the invent-ion illustrated inthe drawings. the spike rotation-preventing means may comprise eitherthe tie-plate C, or the rail clip D, or both said tie-plate and saidrail clip.

Assuming that only a single element such as the tie-plate C is fastenedby a. spike such as the spike A and that said tie-plate is to serve thepurpose of holding said spike against rotating and becoming loose underthe influence oi upward force exerted thereon by the tie-plate, holdingof the spike against rotation by upward force exerted thereon by thetie-plate is accomplished by providing in the tie-plate aspike-accommodating hole |3 of such size and such polygonal shape as toprevent the spike from being moved longitudinally therethrough except bya rotary or twisting action. Thus, said hole does not interfere withdriving of the spike therethrough into the tie. n the contrary, itassists the driving by requiring the spike to rotate and thereby tobecome properly screwed into the tie. Since, however, said tie-plate isheld against rotation, both by the rail D and any other spike or spikeswhich may be employed to fasten it to the tie B, it' effectively holdsthe spike against any rotary and consequent upward loosening movementinsofar as such rotary and loosening movement may tend to occur due torupward force exerted upon the spike by the tie-plate. Upward or outwardforce exerted upon a spike by an element which it fastens has heretoforebeen a primary cause of 4loosening of the spike. However, according tothe present invention, this cause of loosening of spikes obviously isovercome in a simple, practical manner.

The hole I3 preferably is of the same polygonal shape as the polygonalcross-sectional shape of the shank of the spike which it is intended toaccommodate. It may, however, be of any other desired shape as long asit is effective to require a rotary action of the spike relative to thetieplate in order to permit the spike to move longitudinallytherethrough.

If an element such as the rail clip E is fastened by a spike such as thespike A, said clip may be held against rotation by the rail D or in anyother suitable manner and may have therein.I as in the case of thetie-plate C, a spike-accommodating hole Il of a size and shape torequire rotation of the spike relative to the clip in order to permitthe spike to move longitudinally through said hole. Thus, the clipmayact in the same manner as the tie-plate to hold the spike againstrotation Vand upward loosening movement under the influence of forceexerted upwardly thereon by the clip. Accordingly, if the clip is usedin association with a tie-plate, the size and shape of thespike-accommodating hole in the tie-plate is immaterial. Conversely, ifthe tieplate is utilized to hold the spike against rotation, the sizeand shape of the spike-accommodating hole in the clip is immaterial,except as it may be desirable to utilize the spike to hold the clipagainst rotation. On the other hand, both the tie-plate and the clip maybe provided with spike-accommodating holes of sizes and shapes to holdthe spike against rotation under, of course, the influence of upwardforce exerted by either or both upon the spike.

The spike head I i may be of any suitable shape and the rail clip E, ifsame is used, may be of the type shown or of any other desired type.Moreover, the tie-plate holes may be located at any desired points inthe tie-plate.

` outwardly beyond the edge of the rail flange and 10\ A extends throughthe medial portion of said resting upon the tie-plate C. The fasteningspike clip and holds said medial portion under predetermined downwardilexure against a stop constituted by a portion of ther tie-plate,whereby the resistance offered by its inner end portion i5 to upwardmovement of the rail is definite and predetermined. The inner endportion Il of the clip may be of a length to cooperate with the lowerportion of the web of the rail D to hold said clip against rotation or,as aforesaid, this purpose may be accomplished in any other suitablemanner.

Without further description it is thought that the features andadvantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled inthe art, and it will, of course, be understood that changes in the form,proportion and minor detai-ls of construction may be resorted to,without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a railway cross-tie, a tieplate superimposed thereon,a rail seated upon said tie plate andholding the same against rotation,a rail-holding clip having its inner portion overlying a flange of therail, the outer portion of said clip extending outwardly beyond the edgeof the rail flange into overlying relationship to the tie-plate, thesaid outer portion of said clip and the tie-plate having alinedspike-accommodating openings therein, and a headed spike inoluding ashank twisted uniformly throughout its length and extending through saidopenings and driven into the tie, the head of said spike overlying saidclip and holding the latter under downward flexure, the shank of saidspike being of polygonal shape in cross section', the opening in saidclip being of polygonal shape and of a size to prevent longitudinalmovement of said spike relative to said clip except by rotary movementof said spike relative to said clip, and means holding said clip againstrotation. A

2. In combination, a railway cross-tie, a tieplate superimposed thereon,a rail seated upon said -tie-plate, a rail holding clip having its innerportion overlying a flange of the rail and cooperating with the rail tohold the clip against rotation, the outer portion of said-l clipextending beyond the edge of the rail flange into overlying relationshipto the ytie-plate, the said outer portion of said clip and the tie-platehaving allned spike-accommodating openings therein, and a headed spikeincluding a shank twisted uniformly throughout its length and extendingthrough said openings and driven into the tie, lthe head of said spikeoverlying said clip and holding the latter under downward flexure, theshank of said spike being of polygonal shape in cross section, and thespike-accommodating opening in said clip being of polygonal shape and ofa size to prevent longitudinal movement of said spike relative to saidclip except by rotary movement of said spike relative to said clip.

3. A spike including a shank, a head at one end of said shank and apoint at the other end thereof, said shank being substantially square incross section and said point, as viewed in side elevation, being ofsubstantially the same width throughout its length as said shank and, asviewed in edge elevation, being of wedge shape and tapering to a singlesharp penetrating edge, said shank and said point being uniformlytwisted throughout their lengths.

RICHARD T. SCHOLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

Number Number 15 u France Dec. 5, 1941

